Thursday, June 10, 2010

WASHINGTON (BP)--Both political parties should come together soon to enact a strategy of comprehensive immigration reform that increasingly is being supported by evangelical Christians, leaders from that religious identity said at a June 9 forum on Capitol Hill.

'I think every church in America ought to start English classes.'

-- Richard Land

Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land and other evangelicals called for Congress and President Obama to set aside partisanship and special interests to resolve the controversy and problems of illegal immigration.

The immigration crisis "is fanning the flames of hostility and animosity and distrust between various elements in our society, and it is time for our representatives in Congress and our president to put aside partisanship, to put aside narrow political interests and do what is best for the country," said Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

"This just takes national will and insistence that our representatives and our senators and our president do what is in the best interest of the nation," Land said.

Both parties have failed on the issue, said Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

"Democrats are willing to save the auto industry, the housing market, health care and banks but somehow do not find time or the political will to save children from being separated from their parents, securing our borders and integrating 12 million into a legal status that would reconcile our communities," Rodriguez said.

The Republican Party "stands at the brink of repeating history by completing a wall, not between Mexico and the United States but between Hispanic Americans and the conservative movement. How ironic," he said. "The group that [President Ronald] Reagan believed would invigorate the Republican Party via its traditional values of God, family and country today potentially stands rejected by the party of Reagan. The family values party is alienating the most pro-life, pro-family constituency in America. Go figure."

While there is disagreement from some, "there is significant agreement" among evangelical and faith-based leaders for comprehensive immigration reform that secures the country's borders and integrates illegal immigrants by providing "a pathway for earned, legal status and/or citizenship for those seeking" it, said Mathew Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel.

Among white evangelicals, there was "a disconnect between the pulpit and the pew" the last time immigration reform was attempted in Congress in 2006-07, Rodriguez told reporters and others in attendance. Read More

SAN DIEGO (BP)--Mosab Hassan Yousef, the eldest son of a prominent Hamas leader on the West Bank and author of a globally circulated book recounting his conversion to Christianity, is facing a June 30 deportation hearing in San Diego. Read More

RALEIGH, N.C. (BP)--Alabama pastor and Southern Baptist Convention presidential candidate Jimmy Jackson made a two-stop campaign tour in North Carolina in early June harboring "serious concerns" about potential negative effects on the Southern Baptist Convention if the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force recommendations are approved by messengers to the SBC annual meeting June 15 in Orlando.

The three other candidates for the SBC presidency -- Leo Endel, executive director of the Minneso... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Three former presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention are among the latest endorsers of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force recommendations.

BAILEY SMITH

Bailey Smith, who served as president 1980-82 and now leads Bailey Smith Ministries in Atlanta, said in a June 10 statement on the GCRTF website, www.pray4gcr.org, that outgoing SBC President Johnny Hunt's leadership "is visionary and necessary. His heart is to see us use our money to bring the most ... Read More

LEXANA, Kan. (BP)--You can be pro-Cooperative Program and a GCR supporter. The two elements are not mutually exclusive. Who can argue that the Cooperative Program is a marvelous, God-centered entity that must be preserved? We can still accomplish more in missions as a team than as individuals.

As a former state convention employee, I can attest that diligent state strategists and missionaries accomplish valuable work for the Kingdom of God.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In the event the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force's recommendations are approved by the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Fla., the following will likely occur:

The North American Mission Board will notify the states of their breaking the cooperative agreements. This information will reach the associational missionaries, and the pioneer state associational missionaries will seek to encourage the churches of their associations to cover the 80 percent loss i... Read More

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP)--I am now in my 30th year as a denominational journalist. That in itself is hard to believe. But after graduating from the University of South Carolina in 1980 I worked in public relations for North Greenville College (now University) and have been employed either at the state level or national level ever since.

As I get ready to leave for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention next week in Orlando, Fla., I was reflecting on all the conventions I have at... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Consumer prices in Venezuela may rise 40 percent this year and President Hugo Chavez has declared "economic war" against private companies in an effort to rein in inflation, which is running at the highest rate among 78 economies tracked by Bloomberg L.P.

In January, Chavez devalued the country's currency for the first time since 2005 and created a multi-tiered exchange system as he struggled to close a budget deficit and slow capital flight, according to the Bloomber... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)—Chocolate, tight clothes and profanity -- that was Easter Sunday for young Ed Stetzer.

Stetzer, who today directs LifeWay Research, grew up in an Irish Catholic family just outside New York City. Every Easter (and Christmas), his parents dragged the family to a "big building with painted windows and a lot of old people" where an "angry man" (the priest) would scream at them for 20 minutes. The screaming continued on the way home as Stetzer's father unloaded profanities at... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Ken Hemphill, national strategist for Empowering Kingdom Growth, has launched a new study series called "iBelieve," starting with "Core Convictions," a book that explains the basics of the faith in layman's terms.

"Most of the systematic theologies are heavyweight in a lot of terminology," Hemphill told Baptist Press. "Core Convictions deals with 23 faith statements starting with the Bible. There are four sections on the Bible, including inerrancy and that it's trustw... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)--Baptist Press is hosting its Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting blog again this year and will also be sending out updates on its Twitter and Facebook pages.

The blog, dubbed "Instant News," is available at www.bpnews.net/blog and will provide readers the nuts and bolts of news about the meeting nearly instantly, seconds after events on the convention floor take place.

Additionally, brief updates from the blog will be posted on the BP Twitter page (Twitter.co... Read More

FRESNO, Calif. (BP)--Last August was some of the most exciting and relaxing times I'd had in a long time. I was in Hawaii where my wife Carmen and I spent a few days in what we believe is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Islands remind me of the summer I spent in Providencia, Colombia as a boy with my parents. The beautiful sea and beaches, excellent training from my grandfather in the art of fishing, and harvesting sugar cane are vivid memories. Besides the great memories it evo... Read More

HOUSTON (BP)--Last December, the Environmental Protection Agency declared greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide (CO2), to be a danger to public health and the environment. On Thursday, Senator Lisa Murkowski and 40 of her colleagues from both parties will try to block the EPA from regulating CO2 emissions.

You could argue that the “science” of global warming seems less certain by the day, or you could debate the constitutionality of allowing unelected bureaucrats do an end-run around ... Read More

Formed in 1946 by the Southern Baptist Convention, and supported with Cooperative Program funds, Baptist Press (BP) is a daily (Monday-Friday) international news service. Operating from a central bureau in Nashville, Tenn., BP works with a large network of contributing writers, photographers and editorial providers to produce BP News.